50% – News about Neymar moving to Europe
50% – News about everything else

It looks like the deal was 28 million Euros for five-years, which may or may not be on top of the 10 million Barca has long been rumored to have already paid. I believe Barcelona will also get 100% of Neymar’s rights. If so, Sandro Rosell and company just got one of the most talented and marketable players in the world at a very reasonable price. Neymar will play his last match for Santos tomorrow against Flamengo. Then he’s off to national team duty. From what I hear, he’ll be joining Barcelona sometime in July for their summer friendlies.

Both parties – Barcelona as a club, and Neymar as a player – are swinging for the fences on this one. That’s because there are no positives or negatives to this deal; there are potential positives and potential negatives. I’ll try and elaborate more tomorrow (though no doubt you can all figure them out yourselves, we’ve only been debating the subject for years.) HUGE apologies for being MIA again the last few weeks – I’ve been fighting a really prolonged bout of the flu lately, and it’s been all I can do lately just to get my regular work done.

In the meantime, at least we can check one item off the “Things That Have to Happen For Brazil to Win the 2014 World Cup” list: Neymar is finally moving to Europe.

Defenders: David Luiz (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (PSG), Rever (Atlético Mineiro), Dante (Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid) Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Jean (Fluminense)

Midfielders: Paulinho (Corinthians), Fernando (Gremio), Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich), Oscar (Chelsea), Hernanes (Lazio), Jadson (Sao Paulo)

Forwards: Bernard (Atletico Mineiro), Lucas (PSG), Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Fred (Fluminense), Neymar (Santos)

Felipão’s reaction to a question regarding his job security this summer. No translation needed.

BRASIL X CHILE

Diego Cavalieri; Jean, Dedé, Réver e André Santos; Fernando, Paulinho, Jadson e Ronaldinho Gaúcho; Neymar e Leandro Damião.

Técnico: Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Herrera; Acevedo, Rojas, Gonzales e Mena; Leal (Figueiroa), Menezes e Reyes; Vargas, Muñoz e Rubio.

Técnico: Jorge Sampaoli.

Árbitro: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguai)

Local: estádio do Mineirão, em Belo Horizonte (MG).

Data: 24/04/2013 (quarta-feira). Horário: 22h (de Brasília)

Transmissão: a TV Globo, o SporTV e o GLOBOESPORTE.COM transmitem a partida ao vivo. O site também acompanha em Tempo Real.

Laterais
Marcos Rocha (Atlético-MG)
André Santos (Grêmio)

Zagueiros
Dedé (Vasco)
Henrique (Palmeiras)
Réver (Atlético-MG)

Meias
Paulinho (Corinthians)
Ralf (Corinthians)
Fernando (Grêmio)
Jean (Fluminense)
Jadson (São Paulo)
Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Atlético-MG)

Atacantes
Alexandre Pato (Corinthians)
Leandro (Palmeiras)
Neymar (Santos)
Leandro Damião (Internacional)
Osvaldo (São Paulo)

Coutinho’s problem wasn’t that he couldn’t do things. His problem was that he couldn’t do them consistently. What’s more, he often chose the wrong time to do things – dribbling when he should have passed, shooting when he should have dribbled, and so on. During the U20 World Cup, I wrote in my notes that you could often see what Coutinho was trying to do…he just wasn’t pulling it off. Still, you had to be impressed with the ambition and imagination it took for him to even attempt the things he did. It was clear that Coutinho was a long ways away from where he needed to be…but if he could get there, look out!

But would he get there? Would he be able to use his undoubted gifts in a more controlled, mature way?
Almost two years later, we have our answer.

Yes.

Philippe Coutinho – From raw talent to consistent contributor

I am more pleased by Coutinho’s development in the past several months than anything else I’ve seen in football this year. I’m almost as excited about Coutinho as I was about Neymar when he first burst on the scene several years back. Not because I think Coutinho is, or will be better than Neymar, but because his style of play thrills me even more.

I hope you’ll all permit me, but I’m about to quote myself. This is what I wrote about Coutinho during the U20 World Cup, after Brazil defeated Spain in a fantastic quarterfinal.

Philippe Coutinho was particularly at fault, compounding the error by sometimes taking too long on the ball and being unsure of what to do. The odd heavy touch was a problem too.

What’s most impressive about Coutinho is that he’s taken weaknesses and turned them into strengths. For Liverpool, one of the most notable things about him is that he DOESN’T take too long on the ball. He’s much better about acting immediately and decisively, and it’s that decisiveness that has helped him provide several outstanding assists for his teammates.

Check out Coutinho’s performance vs Wigan in this video. It doesn’t cover every contribution he made during the match, but it was the best I could find (and apologies for the truly hideous music; it’s like Francis Poulenc on acid.)

His move that led to first goal is particularly impressive. It’s quick, simple, and almost immediate. Most of his touches in this match are far better in this regard. No, I’m not talking about Xavi-like one-touch passing, but almost every time he gets the ball, he dribbles forward, lays off to a teammate, or tries to angle the ball to teammates in space. It’s truly a far cry from how he used to be, when he would try some elaborate dribble, hold on to the ball aimlessly, or attempt outrageously difficult passes.

In my quote, I alluded to Coutinho’s heavy touch. You don’t really notice anything special about Coutinho’s touch in this video – which I suppose is itself a positive – but take it from me, it’s gotten better. He still needs work here, though. You didn’t see it vs Wigan, but he still has a tendency to get heavy-footed, stalling his own runs much like Hulk does. But it’s better than it was.

Spain’s lack of ruthlessness had yet to be exploited, however. Coutinho continued to struggle, losing the ball frequently and too often playing with his head down. A disappointing showing from the youngster.

Every virtuoso attacker is going to lose possession of the ball. Neymar does, Ronaldinho did, Ronaldo did, Romario did, Garrincha did, you name it. But if you lose the ball more than you can retain it, then that’s a problem. Fortunately for Coutinho, it’s a problem he’s in the process of correcting.

I was worried about this, for two reasons. One, the physicality of the Premier League. How could an inexperienced, slight-of-frame youngster be able to maintain his dribble against the more physically imposing, disciplined midfields of England? Second, the speed of play. The Premier League plays at a faster clip than Italy does, and it’s been the undoing of many would-be wunderkinds before. So far, that hasn’t really been an issue for Coutinho. I believe there are five reasons for this. The first three reasons are to his credit; the latter two by luck.

1. Coutinho has simplified his moves and plays more maturely

Rather than always try and beat his man through tricks, flicks, or by attempting to turn him inside out, Coutinho’s gotten better at using simple body movement, like leaning one way before moving to the other. Furthermore, instead of trying to take on the whole of the opponent’s defense, Coutinho’s adept at getting past his first man, and then passing before other defenders can converge on him. He uses his dribbling as a way to set up his teammates rather than to go on solo runs for himself.

2. Coutinho passes far more quickly now

This one is simple. Defenders can’t muscle you off the ball if you’ve gotten rid of it by the time they get there.

3. Coutinho is fairly good at peeling away from his defender and moving into space to receive the ball, giving him more time on it before getting pressured

Knowing how to peel away from your defender is an underrated skill that not everyone has; Coutinho does. It’s notable, however, that against Southampton and Tottenham, he had a harder time doing this.

4. The opposition hasn’t really had a chance to scout Coutinho yet.

You see this all the time in many different sports. Young players will often start brightly before fading somewhat, simply because at first, opposing teams don’t yet know how to stop them. In Coutinho’s case, I imagine that opposing defenses just aren’t used to him yet. But after they’ve played against him once or twice, and amassed more video on him, they’ll start knowing his tendencies, his strengths, and his weaknesses. Once they do that, he’ll have a harder time being effective…until HE learns to adjust to the opposition’s own adjustments.

5. Coutinho hasn’t played against the cream of the Premier League crop yet

It’s significant that, for all his early successes, Coutinho has been playing against the Readings, Wigans, West Hams, and Swanseas of the league. He’s only played against one Top 5 club in Tottenham, and that was, in my opinion, his least effectual performance so far. So while it’s exciting to see Coutinho adapting to England so quickly, the real test won’t come until he lines up against the Manchester clubs and the top-London sides.

Brazil’s ideas were still sound but their execution was less so, with Negueba and Coutinho attempting clever passes that just didn’t quite come off.

Whether this is Coutinho’s biggest improvement or not, I don’t know…but it’s the most exciting to watch. Coutinho has displayed a stunning array of passes since joining Liverpool. It’s not just his assists; Coutinho just looks far more accurate than ever before.

Here again, though, is an example of where I think Coutinho’s progress truly lies. He always had the ability to make stunning passes, but they usually didn’t come off because he made them at the wrong times. Coutinho can still be a little overambitious at times (and there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious) but he makes much better choices now. So I don’t think it’s necessarily his passing that has improved, but his decision making. It’s not enough to know how to make the pass; you also have to know when to make the pass. And this is where Coutinho is coming on in leaps and bounds.

On the other hand, you could make the case that even in terms of raw technique, Coutinho has gotten better. Some of his passes are just so perfectly weighted…

Nice stuff.

Coutinho, in particular, while he made many mistakes, is a fantastic dribbler and sees possibilities on the pitch well – it’s his decision-making that is wanting.

I wrote this after Brazil’s semi-final victory vs Mexico. Telling, no?

Coutinho: 6
He’s been criticized pretty heavily in other quarters but I didn’t think he had that bad of a match. Certainly he tried to do far too much on the pitch, being guilty of over-complexity and poor decision making, but he also displayed his versatility by being dangerous both inside the box and out of it. His dribbling can be excellent, and he sees the pitch very well – he just needs some mentorship. I know most of you reading this are going to strongly disagree, but I think that he is every bit as talented as Lucas, just with a different skill-set.

Player ratings from the same match. What a difference a few years can make.

—

So that’s the progress of Philippe Coutinho. He’s always been a superb talent, but the question is, would he ever mature from a footballing standpoint and learn to play the game in a more thoughtful, measured way? It’s still early days, but so far all signs point to yes.

All that said, I wouldn’t call up Coutinho right now if I was Scolari…certainly not for the Confederations Cup. I would keep my eye on him of course, and I won’t rule out a possible place on the bench for 2014. If Coutinho continues to improve at the same rate, then in 14 months time, it’s not all out of the realm of possibility. But whether Coutinho makes the cut or not, I can only echo Kenny in saying that our prospects for 2018 look very bright.

Question of the Day

I mentioned that I love watching Coutinho’s style of play. By that I mean, I really like versatile attackers who can create both for themselves and others, who can see angles on the pitch and exploit them, who can move off the ball, and who can use simple techniques FIRST before falling back on more elaborate ones. In short, I really like players who are both dynamic AND thoughtful. That’s why I loved Bebeto so much back in the 90s before Ronaldo exploded for Brazil in ’97 and blew my mind.

All that said, what’s YOUR favorite type of player? Or, to put it another way, who would you model your own game after if you could? For me, the answer to that second question is Falcao. He exemplified everything I’m talking about…and he could do it from a deep-lying position, which was my favorite place to play back when I was a kid.

Post your answers below!

BOLÍVIA 0 X 4 BRASIL

Sergio Galarza; Ronald Eguino, Diego Bejarano (Rony Jimenez), Edward Zenteno, Marvin Bejarano (Jair Torrico); Alejandro Meleán (Ronald Garcia), Walter Veizaga (Alejandro Chumacero), Edivaldo Rojas, Jhasmani Campos (Danny Bejarano), Juan Carlos Arce (Rodrigo Vargas) e Marcelo Moreno

Técnico: Xabier Azkargorta

Jefferson, Jean, Réver, Dedé (Dória), André Santos; Ralf, Paulinho, Jadson, Ronaldinho (Leandro); Neymar (Osvaldo) e Leandro Damião (Alexandre Pato)

Técnico: Luiz Felipe Scolari

Gols: Leandro Damião, aos três do primeiro tempo; Neymar, aos 30 do primeiro tempo; Neymar, aos 41 do primeiro tempo; Leandro, aos 46 do segundo tempo

Cartões amarelos: Ronald Eguino (Bolívia), Osvaldo (Brasil)

Estádio: Ramon “Tauhichi” Aguilera. Data: 6/4/2013.

Árbitro: Patricio Loustau (ARG).

Auxiliares: Erenesto Uziga (ARG) e Ezequiel Brailovsky (ARG)

Sergio Galarza; Diego Bejarano, Jair Torrico, Marvin Bejarano, Rony Jiménez; Ronald García, Alejandro Meleán, Danny Bejarano, Alejandro Chumacero; Edivaldo Rojas e Marcelo Moreno

Técnico: Xabier Azkargorta

Jefferson; Jean, Dedé, Réver, André Santos; Paulinho, Ralf, Jadson, Ronaldinho Gaúcho; Neymar e Alexandre Pato (Leandro Damião)

Técnico: Luiz Felipe Scolari

Árbitro: Patricio Loustau (ARG)

Local: Estádio Ramon “Tauhichi” Aguilera

Alexandre Pato – Corinthians

André Santos – Grêmio

Arouca – Santos

Dedé – Vasco

Dória – Botafogo

Douglas Santos – Náutico

Jadson – São Paulo

Jean – Fluminense

Jefferson – Botafogo

Leandro – Palmeiras

Leandro Damião – Internacional

Matheus Vidotto – Corinthians

Neymar – Santos

Osvaldo – São Paulo

Paulinho – Corinthians

Ralf – Corinthians

Rever – Atlético Mineiro

Ronaldinho – Atlético Mineiro